Royal B.C. Museum showcases collection

Brian Seymour, Collections Manager of the Department of Anthropology of the Royal BC Museum, show artifacts to CFB Esquimalt members during a special collections tour. Photo by William Chaster, MARPAC PA Office

Brian Seymour, Collections Manager of the Department of Anthropology of the Royal BC Museum, show artifacts to CFB Esquimalt members during a special collections tour. Photo by William Chaster, MARPAC PA Office

William Chaster, MARPAC PA Office ~

High in the upper floor of the Royal B.C. Museum, in an area not open to the general public, Brian Seymour, an Anthropology Collections Manager, holds a small, angular shard of rock to the light.

Surrounding him is a group of 16 people from CFB Esquimalt, gazing intently at the shard.

At first glance it resembles a regular stone, but upon closer examination chips and grooves become apparent, too intentional to be from natural causes. This sliver of rock, explains Seymour, is an ancient tool used by a member of a First Nations community hundreds of years ago, carefully shaped and scratched so it could cut or grind plant and animal materials.

This tool is one of dozens of artifacts showcased to base members during a museum tour organized by the Defence Aboriginal Advisory Group (DAAG) May 25.

“The tour was absolutely outstanding,” said Lisa deWit, an employee with Formation Review and a member of the Wet’suwet’en First Nation. “The archive is a real treasure and I felt we could connect in a meaningful way to our culture and ancestors.”

The tour was in honour of Aboriginal Awareness Week.

As Seymour took the group through each room, all crammed with historical First Nations’ objects, he gave encyclopedic detail on those items he chose to highlight, such as carved wooden flutes lining a drawer. In another cabinet, he revealed a selection of woven hats, each with a unique design embroidered around the brim, carefully stored so as not to lose their shape.

This was the DAAG’s first visit to the First Nations Collections.

“It was so popular we filled all the spots on the tour and actually had to turn people away,” said Petty Officer Second Class Marielle Audet, DAAG member who helped coordinate the visit.

Working in close cooperation with many First Nations groups, the Royal B.C. Museum hosts one of the largest collection of British Columbian First Nations artifacts in the world. While only a small percentage of the items are on public display, the collections manager hosts tour groups and First Nations artists, researchers, and scholars.

People wanting a tour should make an appointment by contacting the museum directly at 250-356-7226.

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